Thursday, September 27, 2012

It's been a while since I've done a {Friday Cocktail} but I've been loving {AV}'s Friday Fancies link up so the series is going on a mini hiatus it seems. I know we are all crazy about pumpkin spice lattes for fall, but if you want a skinner version or just want to make it at home, give this recipe a try.

Ingredients

6 oz fresh coffee

1 Tbsp fat free half & half (regular is fine too)

1 tsp of sugar free vanilla syrup

pumpkin pie spice

2 Tbsp pumpkin puree

Directions:

In a saucepan heat the pumpkin puree, syrup, half & half and a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice. Stir until well combined and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to overheat, you can easily burn the cream. Add mixture to your coffee and enjoy. Feel free to add some whipped cream and more pumpkin pie spice if you are so inclined.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day! Did you register? I did. I will officially be voting in the District of Columbia on November 6. I'll be disenfranchised on the Federal level, but I so believe in the importance of voting, that I didn't want to skirt the lines of legality by voting in Arkansas. where I've been registered the last 2+ years. *Side note, my parents live in Little Rock, Arkansas--- I don't know if I've ever shared that little tidbit with y'all. Anyways. I mailed off my registration form to the DC Board of Elections and I'm so excited.

No matter what side of the aisle you fall on I think we can all agree voting is so important. I've talked about why I love politics before but in the weeks leading up to the election I think it's important to address it again. So here we go. Blue Dog Belle's top 10 reason to vote.

10. In order to be heard--- you have to make a statement. Duh, right? What I mean is Congress appropriates funds for various projects and initiatives. They really do listen to the constituencies who make the most noise, so speak up!

9. Don't let someone buy your vote (or your silence). Who wants to be manipulated by the powers that be? No one.

8. Votes make Democracy work. Our government is by the people for the people. But if the people disappear from the process, the whole thing will break down.

7. It's important to stay up to date on the issues. No matter what the policy, you should know how you are affected. If you're up to date on the issues, your far more likely to vote.

6. It's fun. Who doesn't love that little "I voted sticker"

5. You should get paid from work for any time you take to vote--- so hey, wait it a line. Exercise your rights. And take a break from work.

4. You shouldn't complain if you don't participate. Obviously, this is just my opinion, but it drives me NUTS when people start facebook or twitter rants about something stupid that the government is doing but I know they don't take the time to actually go vote. If you don't participate you don't get to complain. (okay--- that's a tad extreme, but it still a pet peeve).

3. Every vote counts. Voting is the ultimate equalizer. No matter how much money you have, what you do or where you live. Your one vote counts the same as that billionaires.

2. The government is broken--- this is the easiest way for you to help fix it. Record deficits, unfunded entitlements and a broken tax code. There are so many important problems that we desperately need to solve. Voting helps provide a direction to the country, let Congress know how you think we should fix it!

1. It's your Constitutional Right. How many millions of people are denied freedoms every single day? In this country alone just think about our relationship with voting throughout history. 90 years ago our mothers won the right to vote. Less than 50 years ago African Americans were barred from voting all across the country. We are so lucky to live in a country, no matter your race, gender, sexuality-- nothing bars you from exercising your freedom. Above all this is why I vote. I vote because I can.

Is that enough for you? You only have a few days left to register (there is a 30 day deadline) so go on and register

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Lately I feel like my life has been flip flopping all over the place. I'm so hyper focused on studying for the lsat, I'm losing it in other aspects of my life. And the hits just keep on coming. So I need a vent day. Here are my recent woes, and some of my recent wins. And if you make it through, I'm linking up with Niki for Loving Lately with my latest obsession.

Woe-ing

Flat tire on a Monday morning. Great way to start the week.

Forgetting about soup simmering on the stove. For 2 hours. Can we say burnt soup? yum.

Sucking at sleeping. I just have too much on my mind, AND I am on an over caffeination cycle where I drink too much during the day, then can't get to sleep at night. Then I'm exhausted the next day, so I once again over caffeinate, oops and there goes the sleeping. How do I get off this ride?

Instagramming. I keep wanting to do an instagram drop post because lets be honest we all like picture heavy posts (and they are easy to pull together). But I've taken like 4 pictures since my last one. Oh well. I'll throw in a few

Parking. I got a $100 ticket For parking on the street in FRONT OF MY HOUSE in DC, in a two hour zone over night during the week, when the "supposedly" don't monitor this block between 8:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. Annoying.

My room is in a state of disarray. One that it has never seen (okay, that's a lie but it hasn't been this bad in a long time). There are just stacks of clothes everywhere. I forget what's clean and whats not... then it needs to get washed again because Oliver inevitably sits on it and leaves his black fur everywhere.

Yoga. I haven't been in TWO MONTHS. and I miss it so... I need to start going again for my sanity. Maybe I'll squeeze it in tonight.

My Job. I normally pride myself on being great at my job. I'm super on top of things. Work through lunches when we're busy, show up early and stay late. I'm work hard, try to be as thorough as possible, and take on new projects regularly. I'm a pretty good employee if I do say so myself. Well, I haven't done anything major, but I keep making just stupid mistakes. Losing receipts. Forgetting to print things for meetings. Not returning phone calls. I just have been so focused on the LSAT lately, I can tell my work is suffering. Time to step it up.

Winning

LSAT studying seems to be finally coming together. Just in time might I add. 11 days.

Losing weight. I'm currently hovering near a three year low! Yay.

Officially being free of a lease requirements for the first time ever in my life (we just went month to month!!)

Blogging. I feel like I've been kind of phoning it in since I started the LSAT studying, but I continue to add new followers at an astonishing rate! Thanks y'all. All the support and comments really mean so much to me! Don't forget to enter my starbucks reader appreciation giveaway.

Saving money/sticking to my budget. Having to study for the LSAT has been an awesome excuse not to go to happy hours or out for late nights on a weekend. Granted I paid a stupid amount of money to Kaplan for my class. AND I have to pay an even stupider amount to apply to schools. Oh yah... then there's that little thing about paying for school. Goodbye savings. I'm still counting this as a win, for now.

The GEORGIA BULLDOGS. 4-0. 40+ points in each game so far. #5 in the country. We are off to a great start. I'm feeling UGA vs Alabama in the National Championship. Anyone else? Gosh the SEC is awesome (4 of the top 6 teams are SEC right now. #winning).

And Since you read this far (and I'm so loving this link up so why not join in again)

Monday, September 24, 2012

This month's Birchbox was not my favorite ever, but once again I picked up a few good things. First off they threw in a twistband. I seriously love these y'all. If you haven't picked one up, you need to! They are super flexible and don't crimp your hair!

Then I got a pack of the La Fresh Instant Body Soothers. These are wipes for your hands, face body, etc. that are supposed to sooth skin. They smell great and are definitely refreshing, but I don't think I'd invest in them.

This Custom Color Club Polish was my favorite find of the box. Birchbox and Color Club teamed up this month to put together a few of the hottest colors of the season. I got the rose gold metallic color called "put a pin in it" I'm OBSESSED. This is definitely worth the $8 investment

They also threw in a few of these brush guards. Definitely a nice thing to have when traveling. These are supposed to protect your brushes and help them keep their shape. They're essentially like those chinese finger traps and they can expand around pretty much any brush.

I think I'm just not a Beauty Balm person. I need/want more coverage. While this Dr. Jart Beauty Balm is by far the best I've ever tried, I still got oily and felt like my imperfections were obvious a few hours into wear. I do have super oily skin and am constantly battling all of my products to extend the wear, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Now obviously y'all know that the belles in the SEC (and across the South) take gameday fashion seriously. Dresses. Hats. Pearls. Heels. It's like a fashion show, where everyone wears the same colors. I went to The University of Georgia (how bout them dawgs?) and I've accumulated quite the red and black collection over the years. Now that I'm out of school, I dearly miss saturday's in Athens. One thing I don't miss though is the standing up for hours on end. Sweating. Gross. Now I get to enjoy the games from the comfort of my couch or a booth in a bar. As I was putting together this outfit, I didn't realize how formal it is, but oh well. Better to be over dressed than under dressed right?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Okay. So it's just been one of those days. I've been a little down lately because of all this LSAT madness. But I've decided that I can't let it take over my life. The weather is beautiful. Life is good. Stress is stupid.

I took a break to swing by Starbucks to pick up another pumpkin spice latte. I decided a few things.

I love fall coffees

I love you guys

So lets do a random giveaway.

All you need to do is be one of my lovely followers and enter below through the rafflecopter widget. You can follow on Facebook and Twitter and all that jazz for more chance to win too. But mostly I just wanted to thank all of you who come by my little slice of the internet and leave such sweet comments every day.

I know every blogger in the world says this, but I really appreciate you all so much. Your comments and emails mean the world to me.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Thank you all for your sweet comments from my post on monday. I'm definitely a little nervous to get into fashion posts, but all of your overwhelmingly positive notes and emails make it worth it. I got quite a few questions about the braided head band. I pinned a tutorial on pinterest, but I thought y'all would like me to take you through it, and since this pin was so perfect (and I've been living under a pile of LSAT books---aka no time to put together my own tutorial)

I'm SO loving this look. It's really easy, and such a cute option to spice up up your everyday do.

I would recommend a few adjustments. I like a little more poof. Shocking I know. So tease away my friends.

You may want to practice the braid a few times, because you have to braid "up" or straight out (not down). You'll understand when you try it. Just warning you... your arms may get tired.

Braid all the way to the end of your hair (or else you'll get weird fly-a-ways)

Hope this helps girls.

I came across a similar tutorial from one of my favorite beauty/fashion bloggers, Keiko Lynn and I thought this was another cute take on the braided headband idea. I just wish my hair was long enough to try it!

I recently switched over to my fall foundation since the summer humidity seems to have disappeared (thank goodness). I'm loving rediscovering some old products and some new ones. I bought the FIT me foundation right at the end of spring this year, but the shade was too light for me during summer. Needless to say, I'm loving the coverage this light weight foundation provides.

I also have been loving the ELF High Definition Powder. Amazing.

I recently discovered boi-ing, and I'm wondering what rock I've been living under? This stuff is seriously awesome. It's the perfect texture and lasts all day! Loving it.

Y'all know how much I love lip products and I picked up another lipstain in honey. I've been loving a bright bold lip for summer, but think I'm going to transition to something softer for fall, so Honey has been perfect.

Also, and it get's cooler chapped lips are inevitable. My favorite is this Eos in soft mint. Perfection in a lip balm if you ask me.

Mega Plush ads have been everywhere lately, and for good reason. Y'all need to pick this up. I promise you'll love it.

Monday, September 17, 2012

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good, but full gaffs. First, I drank entirely too much coffee on Saturday, then after getting home from babysitting I couldn't get to sleep until after 2 am. Fail. I was supposed to take a practice LSAT Sunday morning. Well. 2:45 am rolls around. I still wasn't quite asleep when heard the door open and close downstairs. My roommate KJ was out and about, nothing to be concerned about, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Then some time later I turned over and opened my eyes.

There was an unknown man standing above me. Just staring at me. I swear to god.

I initially thought it was a dream, but no. There was definitely a man there. I don't entirely remember what I said. I didn't scream or jump or any "normal" reaction. No. I was so taken a back I didn't know what to do. I kind of assumed that KJ may have brought home a gentleman friend and by the time I realized what happened I thought running out would have ruined "the mood," so I stayed put.

Well I get a text about 90 seconds later from KJ apologizing. Apparently this guy was her drunk married co-worker who also happens to live in our neighborhood so they were simply sharing a cab, until he invited himself in. At 3:00 am. Needless to say, he was asked to leave shortly there after. It made for quite the interesting morning. Let. Me. Tell. You.

Sunday was once again filled with LSAT Studying. 18 days folks. But I was so excited to head over to the Dew Drop Swap as I mentioned to y'all on friday. KJ was tagging along so we got ready. Full hair and makeup because lord knows you have to look good when you run into the fashionable bloggerati of the District. Well. We were running late. Shocker. With 5 minutes to spare make it to the building to head upstairs. Once we arrive the place was not quite as hopping as we expected. Nope. Not a sole in sight actually. That's when we realized the swap was on SATURDAY. Another fail on my part.

That's it for today. Hopefully the rest of the week will be slightly less eventful. Though I did appreciate the comic relief. LSAT nightmares have been increasing in frequency of late, so it was a good change of pace.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Happy Friday ladies! I'm linking up with the lovely {AV} for another round of....

This week is all about your lusts for fall, and let me tell you, this girl has a serious lust list going. Anything leopard, anything cap-toed and anything metallic especially. I love fall. I think it may be my favorite season (if it wasn't for this silly rag weed in the air killing me with the allergies. come on). I'm so excited to break out the scarves and coats again. Winter can stay away for a while, but oh to cozy up with a hot pumpkin latte in my favorite sweater with scarves and boots. oh my. yes please.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

So, we are in the home stretch of LSAT studying 22 days to go! I have another fab guest post for y'all today. Amy is a craigslist hunter extraordinaire. I hope y'all love her (because I do), and go visit! Take it away Amy. Hello Blue Dog Belle readers!I am honored to be guest posting for the beautiful and talented Emily today.I'm Amy, a Canadian blogger, from Paint Wine Repeat. I love to complete DIY projects, test out new recipes and blog about life! I hope you will check out the rest of my posts if you like what you see here.I, like many other people out there in cyberspace, love to find furniture online. As you probably know, there are services such as Craigslist that are online versions of classifieds (if you remember when newspapers were relevant and they had a whole separate section dedicated to such things!)If you're willing to use some elbow grease AND if painting, staining and restoring furniture interests you, I encourage you to peruse these online classified for what you might be looking for. I should assure you that there are some items to be found that won't need any work, too!

I decided that since Emily is based in DC, it would be fun to find some awesome deals where she is!

Let the fun begin!!

This dresser is available for $100... and just needs a coat of paint and/or new hardware to brighten it up. You could probably barter to get a bargain and fix this puppy up with some TLC! I'm certain that mirror is removable too, if you'd rather not have it attached.

This next one... is a $75 accent chair that I wish I lived closer to, so that I could snag it for myself! Love the mix of wood and fabric, but mainly - it looks so cozy!! If you don't love the colour, you could always reupholster it down the road. But as is, this chair is pulling all the right moves... maybe its lines are just whispering sweet nothings to me? Anyone? Bueller?

This next one needs a little love... it's a round table with an awesome chrome base. It looks like he's worked his whole life in a conference room, but you could let him retire in your home! For $55...it could be yours. The top looks like wood veneer to me, so you could easily paint it a fun colour to add some spice to your kitchen. I think this baby is a diamond in the rough.

Here's a great example of a perfect as-is piece. This rocking chair would easily fit into a nursery or a porch without much fuss! At $25 only for the chair, you could also spend a little extra on paint or cushions to spruce it up if you like. That's the beauty of inexpensive finds, its up to you to discover their potential!

Things to expect when buying online:

1. You can barter. Try offering a lower price and see where it takes you. Be prepared though, that some sellers won't budge.

2. You'll have to be able to pick the item up. Some people offer delivery, but most expect you to make the trek and use your vehicle to transport the item.

3. You'll have to pay in cash.

4. It can be disappointing. Spot something too good to be true? It could be! If you want to be cautious, always arrange a time to view the piece before committing to buying it. This allows you to inspect it and make a decision without pressure.5. You might need a thesaurus. Lots of people have different words for the same thing. Want a buffet for your dining room? Search buffet, but also try sideboard.

Disclaimer: Be alert when using these services of scams or giving out too much personal information. Always practice safety and don't meet someone alone.

What have you had the pleasure to find online? Is it too much work for you? Let's talk adventures in babysitting furniture finding...

Thanks to Emily for having me guest post and thanks to all of you for reading!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wow. I feel like that huge rain storm on Saturday was the end of summer. This weather is amazing. LOVING it. While fall may not be officially here, it's coming... so I need to bulk up my nail collection for the coming season.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Okay ladies. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about the DNC and my epic adventure to Charlotte. But I feel like I owe you a recap of the full adventure.

I left DC Saturday morning for a quick visit in Williamsburg with my bffirl Lauren and her lovely husband Jason. I know I talk about her often, but if you haven't checked out her blog, you really need to. She has a fabulous cooking blog that inspires me every day... if only I had the pantry she does... maybe I could create half the master pieces she whips up on a daily basis.

She treated Jason and I to one of her specialties, Pollo en Fricase, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Lauren knows how much I love cilantro, so this was absolutely perfect.

She also made arros y frijoles, and some yummy mint cocktails. That girl knows me so well.

I mean really. Look at this awesomeness. After a while we hit the town for some fro-yo.

Sunday morning we did a few photo-shoots and had a perfect breakfast. Girlfriend knows how to make a waffle.

That afternoon I hit the road and headed south for Charlotte, through the worst rainstorm ever. I couldn't see anything and was forced to drive about 20 mph. Made the roadtrip so fun. let.me.tell.you. But I made it. Checked in. Hit the grocery store for some essentials (i.e. alcohol and chocolate)

I don't know that I told you officially, but I was offered a position volunteering with the DNCC (convention staff) on the Government Affairs team. It was a great opportunity to meet other like minded young people in Washington, and I just had a fabulous time.

I spotted quite a few famous folks (famous if you watch CNN non-stop like me) Congresswoman DWS above. CNN contributor Donna Brazile below.

Since there were no "official" convention events on Monday I wandered around carolina fest before starting an evening of party hopping.

I ran around town through crazy rainstorms. I ended the night up in NODA which is the arts district of Charlotte. I was beyond thrilled to be reunited with Terrapin.

Tuesday I was up bright and early (with quite the headache) for breakfast with my boss. Then headed off to a few meetings, before reporting for work.

I made an appearance on MSNBC and a few on CNN... never did find the FOX news stand. SHOCKING.

I got to go to a discussion with National Journal featuring an amazing line up: Kal Penn, America Fererra, Chelsea Clinton, Andrew Jenks, Chuck Todd, Kaseem Reed and more. It was great. AND I got to meet Chelsea. She is gorgeous and amazing. Love her!

After work that night I hit up the B52's concert. I had a great time, but 2 am rolled around and I needed to rest my feet.

Thursday was a blur. Breakfasts. Meetings. a quick lunch a Moes, then reported for double duty and the big speeches.

I met so many great folks and had such a wonderful time in Charlotte. If you are at all interested in politics you need to attend a convention in your life. It was so inspiring to meet all these people, young and old, coming together to make america a better place. I definitely had one of those moments where I just had to stop and appreciate everything going on around me.

I am definitely a driven person. I impose some pretty harsh standards on myself, and while it has definitely been a good character trait in my life, it doesn't always allow the opportunity to stop and smell the roses and appreciate where I am.

I was sitting down in a tiny corner of this lounge. feet throbbing. dehydrated. exhausted. with hours ahead of me. then former President Clinton came on. I just had a moment. I started sobbing. Partially at his amazing speech and how much I realized that I really do care and believe that we are heading in the right direction in this country (that's a post for another day though). But more for the fact that I suddenly realized where I was, and how lucky I was to be there. and honestly, how proud I was of myself for putting in the hours, and doing the work, and making the connections and generally being a sufficiently successful person to get there on my own merits. I didn't buy my way in. Or call in favors from numerous connections to get there. I did it. Me. And I was just overcome with emotion by the whole thing. What a great experience.

Okay I know y'all have had enough of this trip. I promise, beauty and fashion will be back tomorrow. Happy Tuesday!